A previous attempt at evicting the occupants of the Express building in Johannesburg failed because of "grossly derelict" legal procedures, according to a judgment dismissing an application to evict its occupiers.  

The judgment, handed down in July 2022, said no real effort was made to find out who lived there, nor were proper notices of eviction served to occupiers and the City of Johannesburg, so the application was dismissed. 

On Sunday, two people were killed and at least four others were taken to hospital after a fire broke out in the three-storey building on the corner of Nugget and Commissioner streets in the Johannesburg CBD. 

The building is a few blocks away from the Usindiso building, where almost 80 people were killed in a fire on 21 August 2023.

Both buildings housed warrens of living spaces fashioned out of corrugated iron, curtains, cardboard and wood. In both buildings, there did not appear to be any oversight or maintenance by the building's owners. There was even confusion over who owned the Usindiso building.

According to the judgment relating to the Express building the owners – listed in the application as Nigerian nationals Tony Meme-Akpta and Hlelen Meme-Akpta – attempted to have its occupiers removed eight years after they bought the building as an investment. 

Some people had lived there for at least 10 years.

Judge Denise Fisher said the application ignored the most basic of eviction principles, such as giving affected parties proper notice, which might constitutionally oblige the applicants to help the occupiers find alternative housing.

Fisher acknowledged the difficulties of identifying and serving eviction notices to such a large group of people but was appalled that the parties thought addressing a notice to "Ms Pretty at the main door" and "The lady who sells sweets at the door and being in control of the property" would be enough. 

Eight of the occupants, represented by a lawyer, said by affidavit that they were desperately poor and did not have formal jobs. Their average household income was said to be R2 800 per month.

If evicted, the residents would have no shelter for the short term and would almost certainly move into another derelict building. 

The judge said that as difficult as eviction processes are, they must be done by the book. 

On Sunday, it all came to a head. Pavement talk alleged that the fire was started by a woman who was arguing with her partner, and Johannesburg police said a 30-year-old woman was detained for questioning. 

In September, following the Usindiso building fire, GroundUp visited the Express building, which housed a church and a school at various points in its history. 

The news agency found that one toilet flushed with a bucket, servicing hundreds of occupiers living in squalid conditions. There was only one tap and lighting was by candle.

In a statement following the fire on Sunday, DA councillor Michael Sun called on the City of Johannesburg to act to rectify the situation of problem buildings.

"An effective starting point would be engaging with building owners and stakeholders, including government itself, to devise a strategy for relocating occupants, adopting a firm stance against building hijackers and repurposing condemned structures.

"We call on the City of Johannesburg to start the systematic process of inspecting all the buildings in the CBD for fire and safety compliance. Further, the DA calls on the City to take urgent action against building owners whose buildings do not comply with the aforementioned standards," she said.